Government targeted over massive ad spend

Labor grills Cormann over taxpayer-funded ads

Senator Penny Wong has grilled the government over its spending on advertisements during a Senate estimates hearing, which Labor says has been an extraordinarily high amount. Senator Wong says Australians are online, watching television and listening to the radio, 'and they are being inundated by ads that they are paying for from a desperate government. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says, 'just because there's an election around the corner doesn't mean that we all of a sudden have to go into conspiracy theories.' A Department of Finance document indicates there has been $136 million spent on advertising for government departments in 2019 alone. Image: News Corp Australia

The opposition has increased its estimate of taxpayer funds being used on government promotions to $1 million a day, up from a previous calculation of $600,000 a day.

The claims have not been challenged in detail by the government, with ministers pledging later transparency on the amounts, and that the spending was an approved process.

The issue was debated in a Senate estimates committee hearing in Canberra today with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann saying he was unable to give a total cost.

Mathias Cormann justified the spend to a Senate estimates hearing, but coudn’t give a total cost figure. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAPSource:AAP

Senator Cormann said the TV, newspaper and billboard advertisements told voters about programs on power bills, cyber safety and concessions to business for hiring staff.

“You are complaining about the Prime Minister and the Treasurer (Josh Frydenberg) talking to the Australian people a week after the budget,” he said.

Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek today said taxpayers had “a government using your tax dollars to advertise to you about the dodgy cuts they have made in health and education”.

“As we watched Senate estimates this morning we found out, in fact it is even worse than we thought,” Ms Plibersek told reporters.

“We have a Finance Minister refusing to say how much this government is spending on advertising. By looking at the old tender website, we worked out, this government is actually spending $136 million of taxpayer money.

“This government is now spending about $1 million a day, of your money, telling you what a great job they are doing.”

Tanya Plibersek said the government’s ad spending was ‘worse than we thought’. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAPSource:AAP

Labor also targeted confirmation that a major element of the April 2 Budget was changed even as the Treasurer was delivering his economic statement to parliament.

Senator Cormann tabled answers to questions raised last week.

He revealed that as Mr Frydenberg was speaking on Tuesday evening, Social Security Minister Paul Fletcher was discussing changes to the energy supplement with his department secretary.

The changes added unemployed people receiving the Newstart allowance to the list of those eligible for the one-off payment of $75 for individuals and $125 for couples to help pay electricity bills.

This was originally aimed at 3.9 million Australians unable to work, including aged and disability pensioners, carers and single parents.

The on-the-run change mid-Budget delivery to include New Start recipients pushed the cost of the program from $284 million to $365 million.